Holbein's Ambassadors

London and New Haven, CT: National Gallery Publications; Yale University Press, 1997. 114 pages, illustrations (some colour); 28 cm. Published to accompany an exhibition at the National Gallery, London, November 5, 1997 to February 1, 1998. Good+. Marginalia on a few leaves. "Holbein's famous life-size double portrait The Ambassadors is one of the best known and most impressive of his surviving works. Yet the subject matter has always presented intriguing problems. Who precisely were the two ambassadors of the title? Why did they choose to be painted together -- with an array of globes, astronomical and musical instruments, books and other objects placed on shelves between them, a skull concealed in the foreground of the painting, and a crucifix partially hidden behind a curtain? The recent careful cleaning and restoration of The Ambassadors has enabled an art historian, conservator, and scientist at the National Gallery in London to collaborate on a thorough study of the making and meaning of this fascinating painting." - Publisher. CONTENTS: The French Embassy of 1533; Jean de Dinteville and the Chateau of Polisy; The Objects in the Painting; Death and Distortion: The Skull and the Crucifix; Holbein as a Painter and the Making of The Ambassadors; The Provenance of The Ambassadors; The Conservation of The Ambassadors; The Physical Structure of The Ambassadors; Fold-out illustration of The Ambassadors.. Paperback. Good. 4to.